Meditation for 22 September 2010
From The Rev. Peter A. Munson
Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.” ’
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you”,
11and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
12Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Living Well

A famished Jesus said to the devil, “One does not live by bread alone.” He was quoting ancient words from the book of Deuteronomy, words that had originally been spoken by God to Moses, and which Moses shared with the Jews after they had been led out of their bondage in Egypt and into the wilderness, before entering into the land of Canaan.

Here’s the larger quote: “Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble your heart, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)

One does not live by bread alone. A modern translation might be: “One does not live just by eating and by being a consumer.” You might continue to exist this way.
But consuming – by itself – does not make you live. If we want to really live, you and I must stay connected to the Source of all life. We live by “every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

It’s good to notice that with all three temptations that Jesus faced from the devil after fasting in the wilderness for forty days, Jesus replied with quotes from scripture. (In the third temptation, the devil even quoted scripture to Jesus, demonstrating that one can use and misuse scripture to harm and destroy.) All of Jesus’ replies are from the book of Deuteronomy. It’s as if Jesus was studying up and meditating on the book of Deuteronomy during those forty days. And when the devil came calling, Jesus was ready. Jesus knew that by studying the scriptures, by praying and fasting, by listening for God’s word in silence and in solitude, he would be sustained by the life-giving word of God. More than that, though, he knew that he would be fully alive if he stayed connected to Yahweh – the Lord. Jesus knew, from his own experience, that one does not live by bread alone.

I love a good meal as much as anybody. In fact, I love bread! I eat bread every day, and I love that bread is at the center of our communion celebration. But you and I know that communion is about way more than eating bread and having a sip of wine. It’s about many mystical things, and one of them is that we are taking Jesus – the Word of God – into us. “Take, eat: This is my Body…… Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood…”

Eating and drinking sustains my physical body. But I will never truly live without seeking God, without striving to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my might. (Deuteronomy 6:5) I will never truly live unless I am always seeking to hear the next life-saving, life-giving, and life-transforming word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Without God, I can exist. This also says something about the amazing grace of God, for, as Jesus said, “… he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) But it is only with God in my life that I can truly live.

You and I make this choice every day, this choice to live or not to live. Because every day we choose whether or not we are going to be open to receiving the words of life from the always-loving Lord of Life.

“One does not live by bread alone.” One lives by staying connecting to the Lord. One lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Every… single… life-giving… word.